April 04, 2014 - UNITED STATES & ENGLAND - The following stories constitutes some of the latest incidents of sinkholes across the United States and England.

Monster Sinkhole Swallows Up Croagh Patrick's Church, England

THAT SINKING FEELING. Photograph of
Croagh Patrick taken early yesterday morning
clearly shows the church being swallowed by giant sinkhole.

A giant sinkhole has appeared on the peak of holy mountain, Croagh Patrick causing the church to collapse and disappear, The Mayo News can exclusively reveal. A section of the roof is the only part of the oratory, built by local men in 1905, that is now above ground and visible.

Experts say ‘a spate of sinkholes all over the country’ are the result of the recent extreme weather which has had catastrophic consequences along the west coast, leading to a whole herd of cattle vanishing on the Erris penninsula and a a holiday home near the village of Louisburgh disappearing without trace.

Emergency services were called to the holy mountain, whose pyramidal peak dominates the skyscape, shortly after 8am this morning (Monday) after a regular pilgrim made the dramatic discovery. Retired teacher, Mr Donnchadh Ó Móráin, from Dunfanaghy in County Donegal, said he normally climbs the 764-meter high mountain twice a month and that when he reached the summit around 7.30am it was – as is often the case – engulfed in rolling mists and he initially ‘didn’t notice the giant crater where the oratory used to be’.

“I was exhausted after the climb and stopped for a few minutes, looking out over Clew Bay, to catch my breath and rub moisturiser into my feet. I thought I was seeing things when I turned around and noticed the oratory had vanished into the ground. So naturally, I knelt down and said a prayer, just in case I was in the middle of some kind of miracle,” Mr Ó Morain told The Mayo News.

He continued: “But when it slowly dawned on me that this was real, I walked towards the spot where the roof of the church was jutting up and discovered a huge crater in which the oratory is now dangling perilously. All I can say is, Saint Patrick would turn in his grave, it is like an abyss.”

Mayo County Council personnel along with local community leaders, a representative of the Clergy as well as members of Mayo Mountain Rescue team were on the scene by lunchtime but such was the size of the sinkhole, they were left speechless, scratching their heads and looking into the hole.

THAT SINKING FEELING This aerial photograph of
Croagh Patrick taken early yesterday morning
clearly shows the sinkhole
and the half-swallowed church.

“While we were very aware of the increased instances of sinkholes around the country because of the recent flooding and storms it is unprecedented for one to appear on the peak of a mountain. Recovery of the church hangs in the balance now but we will have more information in the coming days after geological experts assess the situation,” a spokesman for the county council said.

He confirmed, that despite budgetary constraints, the local authority hoped to engage an American Sinkholologist who headed up the famous case in Florida when in February 2013, 37-year-old Jeff Bush went to bed in the quiet residential suburb of east Tampa and disappeared down a sinkhole, sometime during the night.

When questioned, he denied that there would be any attempts to dig for gold, saying he had full faith that Minister of State, Michael Ring, would find the money for the operation somewhere.

A Fáilte Ireland spokesman said this was the second disaster to occur at a significant Discovery Point along the recently launched Wild Atlantic Way. In January a huge section of an iron-age promontory fort in Dingle, County Kerry, had been atop a cliff on Slea head since 500BC, toppled into the sea.

He challenged accusations by some sources that the huge amount of traffic by extreme sports enthusiasts up the steep sides of this ancient mountain had contributed to this natural disaster.

“Adventure sports athletes are always very light on their feet and barely hit the ground running, there is no way they have contributed to the cause of this chasmic crater,” the tourism body spokesman said.

However, a local priest said it was ‘a sign from himself upstairs’ that ‘all this exercising was over-rated’ and it was past time for lycra to be banned and for a comeback for sack-cloth and ashes. - Mayo News.

Julie Dean says she is getting frustrated with the City of Gulfport in trying to get a sink hole repaired in her backyard. The hole is deep, and Dean says the sink hole swallowed her six foot gate.

"This past Friday, after the heavy rain, the hole opened up a lot larger than it has ever been before, and now it's feet from my home. I contacted the drainage department and the Mayor's office Friday when it happened," said Dean." No one came by, no one called. Monday came; I contacted the drainage department and the Mayor's office. No one came by, no one called. Finally yesterday, Tuesday April 1, someone came and put up a very large fence around our sink hole that is about to swallow two homes."

You can see that other sink holes have popped up in the neighborhood. Across the street from Dean's home there's a smaller sink hole. Next door to that, another sink hole and two more in the front yard of Jason Geddings home. He says the city filled one hole a few months ago, but two more popped up.

"I'm really worried about the kids, because I would hate to see one of them fall into the hole," Geddings said.

I contacted the City of Gulfport Wednesday morning and by midday, Utility Partners had two men on the job.

They connected a robotic camera and placed it down the drainage system to inspect the pipes.

Gulfport Public Works Director Wayne Miller said the problem is a collapsed 30 inch plastic pipe and that the city has a project designed to replace it once two projects ahead of this one are completed.

Dean hopes those two other projects won't take long because time is of the essence.

"It definitely is concerning to me because it is literally a foot, a foot and a half from my home," said Dean. "It is maybe two feet from my neighbor's home, and we are expecting heavy rain coming in this weekend. I'm afraid that it is going to collapse in even further and swallow up my home." - WLOX.

Three-Metre Wide Sinkhole Appears At Staffordshire B&B, England

A sink hole has opened up next to a bed and
breakfast in north Staffordshire.
The hole is expanding "all the time"
Mr Tester said.

Phil Tester, owner of The Laurels, in Oakamoor, said the chasm appeared on Thursday morning and now stood at more than three metres (10 ft) wide and is expanding "all the time".

Mr Tester said experts were on site to try and find out what caused the hole to appear.

The hole followed drilling work at the property this week to check damage caused by a nearby landslide last year.

Mr Tester said: "It's been an incredibly stressful time, there have been a few tears.

"It's not just our business, it's our home and [wife] Helen's parents' home.

"We were all in guest bedrooms last night, in rooms furthest from the hole. But, as you can imagine, we didn't sleep very well."

He said it was difficult to determine the depth of the hole as "deep water" had been found almost two metres down.

The hole is at least three metres wide.

The business was forced to close two weeks ago after cracks in the property were followed by damage to the car park, fence posts and walls.

The B&B is built on a hill and work to excavate land further down for redevelopment was stopped by the Health and Safety Executive in January after the landslip.

Repay deposits

Mr Tester's insurers brought in engineers last month to assess damage and monitor the landslide.

He said his property was built over a clay pit and experts had struggled to find solid rock.

"It's only our second season here and we've had to unpick our whole business," Mr Tester said.

"We've had to pay back deposits. One woman booked in September for April, a special birthday booking.

"We've had to cancel it with just a fortnight's notice."

The hole is now due to be filled in with rocks, before being injected with concrete. A concrete cap will then laid on top. - BBC.

Large Sinkhole Destroys Road In Licking County, Ohio

A portion of a central Ohio road will remain
closed for the foreseeable future because of a large sinkhole that
opened late Thursday night.

The 20 ft.-30 ft. sinkhole destroyed a chunk of S. York Road between Morse and Wesleyan Church Road near Pataskala.

A representative from the Licking County Engineer's Office began examining the damage at approximately 7 a.m. Friday, when heavy rain finally subsided after falling consistently in the area since Thursday morning.

Officials believe that rainfall, combined with
wear and tear caused from winter weather as well as the road's position
above a creek, likely caused the collapse

A timetable for the repair of the road has not been established. - FOX28.

WATCH: Licking County sinkhole.

10-Feet Deep Sinkhole Traps Minivan In Toledo, Ohio

Another vehicle has fallen victim to a Toledo sinkhole, becoming trapped at the intersection of Adams and 15th Streets in the city's downtown Wednesday afternoon.

A witness estimated the sinkhole was about ten feet deep and two feet wide.

The minivan involved needed to be towed out of the crater after its right front wheel sank into the hole. When the van was pulled out of the hole around 5 p.m., it was clear that vehicle had been damaged.

Around 7 p.m., Toledo City crews remained on the scene in an effort to secure the area around the hole.

Crews planned to turn off the water that could be seen running under the roadway.

WATCH:Car gets stuck in a deep Toledo sinkhole.

Officials did not know if the shut off would impact nearby businesses or homes.

This is one of several large sinkholes that have opened up in the Toledo area this year. - Northwest Ohio.